In the west African nation of Guinea mining giant Rio Tinto has signed an agreement with the government to construct a new mining port. The agreement was signed by its subsidiary Simfer S.A. According to the deal the company will pay the government US$700 million and gain mining concessions in the country.
The agreement will also allow Rio Tinto to ship iron ore from mid 2015 from the Simando region in Guinea. The deal is dependent on presidential decrees granting mining concessions and the approval of a joint venture in Simando. The government will hold 51% of stake in the joint venture. The infrastructure will end up reverting to Government ownership once it is fully amortised, after 25 and before 30 years.
Rio Tinto’s iron ore division chief executive, Sam Walsh said that this was a major project and a significant undertaking. They expected a total investment of more than US$10 billion to bring the mine and associated infrastructure on stream. Sam Walsh added that he would like to extend his personal thanks to the Government of Guinea for engaging so constructively with us to reach this agreement.
Mr Walsh said that Rio Tinto looked forward to working with them on the project and welcomed their aspiration to develop a State mining enterprise that capitalizes on the value of Guinea's resources for all of Guinea.